--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As St.. Maximos has said, 'To think that…" description: "\"“As St.. Maximos has said, 'To think that one knows prevents one from advancing in knowledge.\" St. John Chrysostom points out that there is an ignoranc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/saint-nikodimos-63714_ignorance_as-st-maximos-has-said-to-think-that-one_930582.jpg" --- # As St.. Maximos has said, 'To think that one knows… ![“As St.. Maximos has said, 'To think that one knows prevents one from advancing in knowledge." St. John Chrysostom points out that there is an ignorance which is praiseworthy: it consists in knowing consciously that one knows nothing. In addition, there is a form of ignorance that is worse than any…” quote by Saint Nikodimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/saint-nikodimos-63714_ignorance_as-st-maximos-has-said-to-think-that-one_930582.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/saint-nikodimos-63714_ignorance_as-st-maximos-has-said-to-think-that-one_930582.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/167/saint-nikodimos-63714_ignorance_as-st-maximos-has-said-to-think-that-one_930582.jpg) > ““As St.. Maximos has said, 'To think that one knows prevents one from advancing in knowledge." St. John Chrysostom points out that there is an ignorance which is praiseworthy: it consists in knowing consciously that one knows nothing. In addition, there is a form of ignorance that is worse than any other: not to know that one does not know. Similarly, there is a knowledge that is falsely so called, which occurs when, as St. Paul says, one thinks that one knows but does not know (cf. I Cor. 8:2).”” [Saint Nikodimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-nikodimos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True wisdom acknowledges its limits; pretending knowledge blocks growth, while conscious ignorance is virtuous. **In simple terms:** Admit what you don’t know to learn. Key Takeaway Embrace humility in learning. Themes humility knowledge growth Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - academic study - spiritual practice - decision making - leadership development Key Concepts Socratic ignorance epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions might you be clinging to? - How can you cultivate productive doubt? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can masquerade as expertise, hindering progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Praiseworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-praiseworthy-1513405/) [Ignorance Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-worse-1513406/) [John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-chrysostom/) [Knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Falsely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-falsely-1513404/) ## Related quotes > [“It is my purpose also to give the names and number and times of those who through love of innovation have run into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eusebius-of-caesarea/it-is-my-purpose-also-to-give-the-names-and-number-and-times-of-those/) [Eusebius of Caesarea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eusebius-of-caesarea/) > [“St. John Chrysostom has the following beautiful simile in one of his homilies: " As a fire which has taken pos session of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pohle/st-john-chrysostom-has-the-following-beautiful-simile-in-one-of-his/) [Joseph Pohle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pohle/) > [“They are all dead now, Diocletian and Ignatius, Cyril and Hypatia, Julian and Basil, Athanasius and Arîus: every party has yielded up its persecutors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-murray/they-are-all-dead-now-diocletian-and-ignatius-cyril-and-hypatia/) [Gilbert Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-murray/) > [“The fourth-century Greek theologian St. John Chrysostom said that Job's greatest trial was that his wife was not taken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-fourth-century-greek-theologian-st-john-chrysostom-said-that-job/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness. ST. JOHN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-guzman/prayer-is-the-place-of-refuge-for-every-worry-a-foundation-for-2/) [Sam Guzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-guzman/) > [The thing that seemed to me so important about the psychedelic experience was that it happened to me. I wasn't reading John Chrysostom or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-thing-that-seemed-to-me-so-important-about-the-psychedelic/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“Saturday 13 September 2014 Saint John Chrysostom,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/saturday-13-september-2014-saint-john-chrysostom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God hears and fulfills the prayer of a man who fulfills His commandments. "Hear God in His commandments," says St. John Chrysostom, "So that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-popovic/god-hears-and-fulfills-the-prayer-of-a-man-who-fulfills-his/) [Justin Popovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-popovic/) > [“Fourth-century preacher John Chrysostom said, “This is the rule of most perfect Christianity, its most exact definition, its highest point, namely, the seeking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/fourth-century-preacher-john-chrysostom-said-this-is-the-rule-of-most/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“St. John Chrysostom said 'Find the door of your heart, you will discover it is the door of the kingdom of God.' So it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bloom/st-john-chrysostom-said-find-the-door-of-your-heart-you-will-discover/) [Anthony Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bloom/) > [ \[W\]e must come into a transformed knowing, an unknowing which comes not from ignorance but from knowledge. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/w-e-must-come-into-a-transformed-knowing-an-unknowing-which-comes-not/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Saint Nikodimos > [“although the kingdom of heaven is one, there are many different levels within it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-nikodimos/although-the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-one-there-are-many-different-levels/) [Saint Nikodimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-nikodimos/) > [“In this way God's grace, our universal mother, will give us gentleness, so that we begin to imitate Christ. This constitutes the third commandment;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-nikodimos/in-this-way-god-s-grace-our-universal-mother-will-give-us-gentleness/) [Saint Nikodimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-nikodimos/) > [“We therefore need discrimination in all things so that we may rightly assess every form of action. For him who possesses it, discrimination is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-nikodimos/we-therefore-need-discrimination-in-all-things-so-that-we-may-rightly/) [Saint Nikodimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-nikodimos/) > [“Whoever lacks such experience, however, is often at a loss, being unaware that secular learning is of great help when it acts as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-nikodimos/whoever-lacks-such-experience-however-is-often-at-a-loss-being/) [Saint Nikodimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-nikodimos/) [Explore all 5 Saint Nikodimos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-nikodimos/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) [Vashti Quiroz-Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vashti-quiroz-vega/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) [John P Lintz Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-p-lintz-sr/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As St.. Maximos has said, 'To think that one knows prevents one from advancing in knowledge.\" St. John Chrysostom points out that there is an ignorance which is praiseworthy: it consists in knowing consciously that one knows nothing. In addition, there is a form of ignorance that is worse than any other: not to know that one does not know. Similarly, there is a knowledge that is falsely so called, which occurs when, as St. Paul says, one thinks that one knows but does not know (cf. 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